Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have produced samples of strong, resilient spider silk. The spun samples could lead to a variety of biomedical materials, including sutures and scaffolding for organ replacements.

Through a clinical collaboration between Caltech, Keck Medicine of USC, and Rancho Los Amigos National Rehabilitation Center, a man paralyzed from the neck down can use a robotic arm to perform a fluid hand-shaking gesture, drink a beverage, and even play "rock, paper, scissors." The neural prosthetic device is implanted in a region of the brain where intentions are made.

A group of researchers from Italy's Sant'Anna School of Advanced Studies created a robotic arm that bends, stretches, and squeezes through cluttered environments. Inspired by the eight arms of an octopus, the device allows surgeons to easily access remote, confined regions of the body and, once there, manipulate soft organs without damaging them.

University of Washington engineers hacked a teleoperated surgical robot to test how easily a malicious attack could hijack remotely controlled operations. Incorporating security measures will be critical to the safe adoption and use of the robotic technology.

Using a compact synchrotron source, researchers at the Technische Universität München (TUM) have developed a technology that measures X-ray absorption, phase shifts, and radiation scattering. The technology will help doctors and scientists distinguish between healthy tissue and tumors.

A University of Illinois research team developed a new method of soldering gaps in atomically small wires. The more flexible transistor technology, carbon nanotube wires, shows promise in replacing silicon devices.

A new potential manufacturing approach from Purdue University researchers harnesses inkjet printing to create devices made of liquid alloys. The resulting stretchable electronics are compatible with soft machines, such as robots that must squeeze through small spaces, or wearable electronics.

Rice University graduate students and researchers have made nanowires between 6 and 16 nanometers wide. The wires are made from a variety of materials, including silicon, silicon dioxide, gold, chromium, tungsten, titanium, titanium dioxide, and aluminum. The development of sub-10-nanometer sizes shows promise for the semiconductor industry as it continuously seeks to make smaller circuits.

Using MRI, Johns Hopkins researchers developed a cancer detection method that does not rely on injected contrast dyes. The technique noninvasively finds telltale sugar molecules shed by the outer membranes of cancerous cells.

MDB - INSIDE STORY

Christopher Scott

To find out more about the expertise that Eurofins brings to this area, and the company's plans for expansion into the United States, Medical Device Briefs recently spoke with Christopher Scott, vice president of Eurofins Medical Device Testing.